


Press Restart

by spideyfool



Category: Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons)
Genre: 3Below Season 2, Bad Parenting, But only minor changes, Character Study, Complicated Relationships, Inner Dialogue, Minor Character Death, Not Canon Compliant, Platonic Relationships, Sibling Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:01:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27641111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spideyfool/pseuds/spideyfool
Summary: "This is my home," he said.He grabbed her hands gently. She looked at him and her eyes said,I'm not going to stop you.She gave him a weak smile. "I know."
Relationships: Aja Tarron & Krel Tarron, Coranda Tarron & Fialkov Tarron & Krel Tarron, Krel Tarron & Varvatos Vex
Comments: 10
Kudos: 22





	Press Restart

**Author's Note:**

> AKA, some brief character exploration with Krel, featuring some headcanons of mine + some stuff thrown around on discord...Happy Thanksgiving?

Earth had not been so kind to him.

From bounty hunters to Area 49-B, life on the planet wasn't easy. But it wasn’t easy on Akiridion-5, either - it was _suffocating,_ in fact. He didn't belong, not even in his own family.

He wondered if he belonged anywhere. He felt mild comfort at the idea that perhaps the universe was just meant to be empty for him.

But whenever he allowed himself to feel any sort of doubt about his home, he would blink and see his father behind his eyelids. What was he, if not heir to the throne? It was a role he'd accepted, because maybe, just _maybe_ , all those years of pain could be worth something. He could ignore the loss of childhood once he was king. 

So when his sister suggested risking their lives for the inhabitants of Earth, his heart rose to his throat. 

"We are not leaving this planet until we end Morando," she said, "This is our home. We will protect it."

"This is not our home,” he challenged, venom on his tongue.

It's not, because it _can't be_. Home was not where your friends were, or where your happiness was. That’s not what he was taught. Home was the burden he was born with; where his people were, where he was raised. He forced himself to remember that. 

He hadn't worked so hard to save their parents, _to save their real home,_ just so Aja could run away from it again.

She lifted her chin, confident. "Well, now it is, little brother."

And then Varvatos smiled at her, and he had to pretend to be fine. He slipped into the mothership without a word. 

* * *

Krel was not angry at him. He should have felt just as betrayed as Aja, but he did not. Any resentment he held for Varvatos had faded the longer he spent on Earth. 

That didn’t mean it was painless. The idea of his parents leaving him again made his stomach do flips and his breath quicken. He didn't know how to live without them. Of all their teachings, they never taught him _that_.

He allowed himself to shed a few tears before he called Zadra. He wasn’t angry, but he would fix this. 

When she hung up, Aja sighed in relief. “This could really work, little brother."

"Like you said, it has to, or we lose them all over again.”

If he could save the world before, he could do it again. There weren’t any other options.

Or, he thought there weren’t.

Aja stared at their regenerating parents. "If it comes to that..." she began, voice stern despite their circumstance, "We will power the cannon with our own cores. Akiridion needs a king and queen. "

She took his hands in hers, eyes full of determination, and he couldn't just say _no._ Wherever Aja went, he went - that's how it had always been. He didn't want to die, but he knew his life was worth less than theirs.

He spared a glance at Varvatos. He had so many words to say, but his jaw went slack. Instead, he squeezed Aja's hands and nodded in agreement. 

* * *

It was time to go back home.

Right as life here was getting easy, too. Once they defeated Morando, a weight was lifted off his shoulders. He could laugh with Eli and Toby without regret, or sing until his voice gave out. He would miss that. 

The sky was a mix of purple and yellow, akin to a painting. It was something he could never see on Akiridion-5. As he looked over the city, he wished he could feel the breeze against tan skin and long brown hair. He felt a pinch of shame with that; he shouldn't feel that way, or, at least, he wasn't _allowed_ to feel that way.

That was when a horrifying realization dawned on him. 

His parents were dead. _His parents were dead_ , and he wanted to _run_. He wanted to feel Arcadia under his feet, to feel Toby’s bedsheets, to feel the strings on his guitar...

He'd never had to opportunity to run away before, and now no one in the entire galaxy would stop him. He would have been disgusted with himself if the idea wasn't so exciting. If it didn't feel like coming home. 

Aja's touch was usually warm or welcoming, but when she approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder, he flinched. He worried that his thoughts had been loud enough for her to hear. But then she brushed her thumb against him softly, and he melted. 

She waited for him to speak. She'd grown in patience; it looked good on her.

Krel exhaled, "You were right, Aja. We've made a lot of friends on the mudball."

He felt her hand slip off his shoulder. She sucked in her breath. 

"Little brother..." 

He couldn’t bring his eyes to meet hers. He wasn’t scared of Aja - just of his feelings.

"All my friends are here." His friends, who taught him what love meant. Who made him feel wanted. 

"This is my home," he said.

He grabbed her hands gently. She looked at him and her eyes said, _I'm not going to stop you._

She gave him a weak smile. "I know."

His Akiridion form faded into his human one. It was no longer a disguise. 

"You'll be okay without me?" He asked.

It was a silly question. Krel is used to picking up the pieces after Aja, but that Aja does not exist anymore. He knew that, because if that girl was the same as the one standing in front of him, they would not be having this conversation. 

Her grip on his hands were tighter than ever. "Of course. Now we will both be home."

**Author's Note:**

> Not as long as I would like for it to be, but I got all of the feelings I wanted to get out, so...I hope it's worth something! I want to focus on just posting whatever I write to AO3 no matter what so I can practice more. :>


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